Video games for MRI
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Gamifying the MRI Experience
IRAS ID
279429
Contact name
Warren Macdonald
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College, London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 10 days
Research summary
Children needing MRI scans often struggle to stay still due to fear and anxiety – which may mean they need sedation or general anaesthesia to enable successful diagnostic scans. MRI scans are often the preferred imaging due to the clinical detail that can be obtained, and their otherwise low-risk. There are no current alternatives to paediatric sedation if the subject cannot lie still.
This project aimed to address this by using a video game to reduce anxiety in children and encourage them to lie still; thus, reducing motion-related artifacts. To further reduce anticipatory anxiety in paediatric patients and their parents, a VR experience capturing the patient journey was also devised. The game, based on a traveling rocket collecting stars and avoiding meteorites, used input from an eye-tracker; so body movement was not required. Patient motion was monitored with sensors which triggered a gradated obscuring of the game using virtual fog. The gaze-controlled game and VR tour were tested on a pilot group for efficacy, and user feedback was collected. An additional game based on a submarine has been added.
Our next phase is to obtain user feedback from the paediatric population and observe the child experience when undergoing the VR experience and playing the gaze-controlled game when supine.
The system is not classed as a Medical Device, because it it not used in the diagnosis or therapeutics of a disease, and does not therefore fall under the Medical Device Regulations.REC name
London - Surrey Borders Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/LO/0395
Date of REC Opinion
27 Apr 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion